Mr Manning
is the first American to have a penis transplant but hopes the
government will help fund the procedure for veterans who suffer horrific
injuries on the battlefield.
There
has been an alarming rise of veterans committing suicide after damaging
their penises, with 1,367 soldiers suffering such injuries between 2001
and 2013.
'I'm
hoping that the end result [is] the government will give the hospital
and the vets enough money so they can begin getting treated properly,
and that trickles to down to the general public,' Mr Manning said from
hospital.
'In
the long haul, I hope to get myself together physically, have the
hospital send me out there, be a sponsor, be a representative for this,
and let's get this on the road,' he added.
He said he has had support from his mother and siblings and was looking forward to getting back to work soon.
Mr Manning said earlier this week that the operation 'quite literally saved his life'.
'In
2012, my life changed forever when I suffered a debilitating work
accident, followed by a devastating cancer diagnosis,' he said.
'Today,
I begin a new chapter filled with personal hope and hope for others who
have suffered genital injuries, particularly for our service members
who put their lives on the line and suffer serious damage as a result.'
He added that the ground-breaking surgery allowed him a 'second chance' he had never believed was possible.
Doctors
had first noticed Mr Manning was suffering from cancer after
he suffered severe injuries in an accident at work involving heavy
equipment. During his treatment, medics noticed a growth on his penis
and he was later diagnosed with an aggressive form of penile cancer.
While it is rare, more than 2,000 cases and 340 deaths from penile cancer are expected in the US in 2016.
Many find the loss of their penis devastating for their confidence and sense of identity, a feeling Mr Manning can relate to.
He said: 'Men judge their masculinity with their bodies.'
Dr
Dicken Ko, a leader in transplants at the hospital, said that not only
did genital amputee patients suffer loss of urinary and sexual function,
they also suffered a 'loss of identity.'
'Many of these patients suffer in silence. And this patient has now found his voice,' he said.
To
save his life, doctors were forced to remove most of Mr Manning's
penis, leaving him with just a stump about one-inch in length.
The
circumstances of the amputation would be life-altering; he would have
to urinate sitting down and could not be intimate with anyone.
He
said: 'I wouldn't go near anybody. I couldn't have a relationship with
anybody. You can't tell a woman, "I had a penis amputation".'
However,
Mr Manning never gave up hope of a transplant - despite the fact
surgeons had not even considered such a procedure at the time - and a
year after his surgery, doctors got in touch.
He
endured a grueling year of tests and psychological evaluations, but was
eventually put on the waiting list and after just two weeks a donor
with the right blood type and skin color was found.
During surgery, doctors connected nerves, veins and arteries from the donor penis to Mr Manning.
+3
Doctors connected nerves, veins and
arteries from the donor penis to Mr Manning and nerves are expected to
grow into the organ at a rate of an inch per month
Nerves are then expected to grow into the penis at a rate of about one inch per month, eventually enabling sexual function.
'We
are cautiously optimistic,' said Dr. Curtis L. Cetrulo, a leader of the
surgical team at Massachusetts General Hospital. 'It's still early days
but we're hopeful.'
After the operation, Mr Manning began to hemorrhage and was taken back to the hospital for treatment.
Mr
Manning, who will be on immuno-suppressants for the rest of his life,
has thanked his 'extraordinary medical team' at Mass General, 'who
helped not only make this possible, but quite literally saved my life'.
He also thanked the family of the donor, 'whose wonderful gift has truly give me the second chance I never thought possible'.
'I
thank my mother for standing by my side and helping me through each
step of the way,' he added. 'In sharing this success with all of you,
it's my hope we can usher in a bright future for this type of
transplantation.'
Alexandra
Glazier, president and CEO of the New England Organ Bank, said that the
transplant was made possible because the donor family had the strength
to look past its own grief and see the ability to help someone in need.
'To
this donor family, we offer our thoughts as they struggle with their
loss and our humble thank you, deep appreciation and admiration for the
humanity they showed,' Glazier said at the conference.
'They
wish the recipient to know that they feel blessed and are delighted to
hear his recovery is going well and are praying that his recovery
continues.'
While Mr Manning is breaking ground in the U.S. he is by no means the first to have such an operation worldwide.
Last
year a 21-year-old man in South Africa underwent nine hours of surgery
to have a donor organ attached after he was left with just a 1cm stump
for a penis following a botched circumcision.
Miraculously, after his life-changing surgery he later announced he had impregnated his partner.
However,
not all of the donations have a happy ending. Eleven years ago, a man
in China received a transplant, but asked surgeons to remove the donated
penis two weeks after the operation.
Back in the United States, another patient will hope to benefit from the same surgeons that helped Mr Manning.
The
patient's penis was destroyed by burns in a car accident and he is now
waiting for a transplant, while surgeons at Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine, in Baltimore, are hoping to operate on a combat
veteran who suffered injuries in Afghanistan.
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